The latest opinion polls are sobering news for Angus Taylor, the Liberal Party conservative meant to revive the Coalition after the party rejected predecessor Sussan Ley’s “sensible centre” approach.

Mr Taylor’s popularity has fallen steadily in his four months as the alternate prime minister, according to Newspoll, which calculated his “satisfaction” level at negative 20 per cent from a survey conducted between last Monday and Thursday.

For a leader, the figure isn’t exceptional. Anthony Albanese’s is negative 17 per cent. But the downwards trajectory worries the Liberal Party, which has been unable to capitalise on the rebellion against the Budget — a sign of how much One Nation has changed Australian politics.

The Newspoll puts the Coalition’s support at 17 per cent, about the same as a RedBridge/Accent poll published on the same day in the Financial Review. One Nation’s popularity dropped two percentage points in both polls, putting it below the Labor Party, an important symbolic change but one within the polls’ margins of error.

Which means this: despite some softness in One Nation support, Angus Taylor’s promotion has failed to break One Nation’s dominance over the right side of politics.

Such an outcome would have been difficult to predict in February. That was when conservative forces within the party removed Ms Ley from power, believing Mr Taylor’s academic credentials, professional experience and strong-but-understated faith would return the Coalition as primary contenders for government.

Instead, the degree-less Pauline Hanson outmanoeuvred the Rhodes scholar. The One Nation leader’s anti-immigration, nationalist message remains popular, notwithstanding what looks like a negative reaction to her “monoculture” speech on June 17.

Senator Hanson’s personal approval fell 10 percentage points to -10 after the speech at the National Press Club, according to RedBridge. Given the senator’s hostility towards immigrants — she once said she would not sell her home to a Muslim — it might be surprising she isn’t more unpopular. Treasurer Jim Chalmers, for example, has a negative approval rating of 18, and he gets to give low-paid workers tax cuts.

Senator Hanson’s great advantage over Mr Taylor is a perception she is the more authentic politician. Every verbal stumble, every angry confrontation with a journalist, reinforces Senator Hanson’s no-bullshit image.

Mr Taylor, trapped by convention, history and inclination in the world of the political elite, has failed to make voters understand him, let alone like him. With little sense of his true personality or life story coming through, he is vulnerable to the Government’s long-running strategy, led by Dr Chalmers, portraying him as an over-educated toff lacking political common sense.

There appears little interest within the Coalition to replace Mr Taylor. History has shown the political cost of such changes is tremendous, as Liberal MPs know, both from their experience and Labor’s. And as Ms Ley’s quick resignation from Parliament demonstrated, it can cost the leader’s seat too.

Having failed to turn the tortuous Budget debate into greater support for the Coalition, Mr Taylor will now have to do what he has done throughout his career: work his way through adversity, never complain and hope success will emerge eventually.

In the meantime, he points to the end of conflict with the Nationals that destroyed Ms Ley’s leadership — although voters are so uninterested they have given him no credit for being peacemaker.

“We were in freefall,” Mr Taylor on Monday morning said on Sydney radio station 2GB. “We’d seen two bust ups with the Coalition. Now the Coalition is solid. Solid as a rock.”

In the meantime, Prime Minister Albanese has emerged from the Budget in an even stronger position, while his much younger treasurer, Dr Chalmers, is a diminished force.

The situation is counter-intuitive: the country is struggling economically, beset by internal tensions and the government is about to end one of the most-popular investment tax breaks. If there was ever a great moment for an opposition leader, this should be it.

Maybe it is, except she doesn’t formally hold the title.